SMALL BUSINESS BLOG -- SCOTT SUTTELL

Cleveland web designers try a different Tackk from Facebook, Twitter

Blog Entry: October 11, 2012 4:30 AM | Author: SCOTT SUTTELL

A Cleveland-based startup called Tackk is trying to do what Twitter, Facebook and others don't do well: offer a “basic, single-use web page for whatever they need, with dead-simple posting tools and no registration necessary.”

So says this story on Techli, a website that covers technology and innovation.

The piece notes that Tackk “made its public debut earlier this month after spending time in a private beta.” The service was founded by Eric Bockmuller and Dan Klammer, two Cleveland-based designers “with a passion for elegant web creations,” according to Techli.

“We saw our friends and family trying to share things online — things they love or stories they want to tell — and realized what a struggle it was for them,” Mr. Bockmuller says. “It seemed like something that should be really simple was so hard, so we decided to create Tackk.”

For those purposes, Techli says, “Twitter's too spare, Facebook's too crowded and creating a new blog is too time consuming.”

The story notes that the co-founders' designer background “is apparent when first visiting Tackk, which couldn't be any more straightforward.”

“Upon arriving at the website, a user will be presented with a mock-up post, broken down section-by-section with basic explanations, each of which are editable with a single click,” according to Techli. “A post can be as basic or as complex as the user would like to make it, with options for pictures, text colors, backgrounds, and even clickable buttons. Posts can be made anonymously, and are aggregated on the Tackkboard — the heart of the service that's helping the founders discover how people are approaching Tackk.”

If the deal sounds too sweet ...

Forbes.com reports that a Clevelander and another Ohioan were among 10 people charged on Wednesday in connection with a vending machine “business opportunity” scam, involving bulk candy vending machines, that defrauded thousands of victims across the country.

The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Miami. It alleges that managers, sales representatives and operators of “locating companies” associated with Multivend LLC, dba Vendstar, “made material misrepresentations about the profits that would be generated and the traffic attached to vending locations,” according to Forbes.com. “During telemarketing calls, Vendstar's sales representatives allegedly falsely claimed to operate their own profitable vending machine businesses.”

Vendstar allegedly advertised nationwide in newspapers and on the Internet. If someone pursued any of the leads and reached the promoters, “Vendstar sales representatives purportedly promised to provide you with everything they needed to operate a successful business.” Among the startup support promised: vending machines, an initial supply of candy, assistance in finding locations for the vending machines, and training.

But Forbes.com notes that as a result of the alleged scam, investors' vending machines generated little business and Vendstar's customers lost nearly all, if not all, of their investments. The typical customer paid about $10,000 for the business opportunity.

Among the named defendants are Edward Morris “Ned” Weaver, 39, of Perrysburg, Ohio, the president and CEO of Vendstar, and Wallace W. DiRenzo, 67, of Cleveland, who operated Nationwide Locating Co., which was based in North Palm Beach, Fla.

Meh

If you pay much attention to economic news, you won't be surprised to learn that the Federal Reserve's latest assessment of economic conditions in the Cleveland district is decidedly so-so.

Here's how the Fed's Beige Book describes conditions in the Fourth District:

Business activity expanded in the Fourth District since our last report, although the rate of growth remains modest. On balance, manufacturing output rose. In the real estate sector, nonresidential construction picked up, while reports on single-family housing starts were mixed. Sales of existing family homes increased. Retailers and auto dealers saw a modest improvement in sales during August and September on a year-over-year basis. Shale gas activity continued at a robust pace, while coal production fell below prior-year levels. The slowdown in freight transport volume, which began in the second quarter, has abated. And the demand for business and consumer credit moved slightly higher. ”

In other words, more of the same.

Stay home

More Americans than ever “are choosing to forgo formal offices in favor of working from home,” according to this story from TheAtlanticCities.com.

The piece notes that the U.S. Census Bureau this month released data examining metro areas with the highest concentrations of people who work out of their home. The data found “increasing levels nationally and slight, but notable, geographic differences,” according to TheAtlanticCities.com. Technologies such as Skype and DropBox make it easier than ever to be productive outside a traditional office.

“Nationally, the number of workers responding that they worked exclusively at home increased by 1.8 percentage points (4.8 percent to 6.6 percent) from 1997 to 2010, according to the report,” TheAtlanticCities.com notes. “Workers who reported that they worked at least one day per week at home increased from 7.0 percent in 1997 to 9.5 percent in 2010. Just under half of those who work at home were also self-employed, while a quarter were from management, business, and finance occupations.”

The story doesn't specifically mention the Cleveland market, but a map that's reproduced in the post puts Cleveland at about the national average. Boulder, Colo., at 10.9%, has the highest percentage of people who work at home.

Other states with high levels of at-home workers are California, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York and Oregon.

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